Episode 120: Valerie Harper
When Valerie Harper shows up for her guest star appearance on The Muppet Show, she begs Kermit to let her do a big opening number. Since she's already sabotaged Bertha Beasley and Her Galloping Geese, Kermit gives her a shot with "Broadway Baby," which she performs backstage. Statler and Waldorf are so impressed with Valerie's beauty that they fight over which one of them will get to pursue her. Statler (literally) flips for her and goes backstage to woo her with some smooth talk and an African berry bush. Unfortunately, while Statler waits to see Valerie, George the Janitor waters the plant, which grows three feet an hour (more if it rains!) and takes over the whole backstage, eating Fozzie's cue cards and forcing Kermit to don a pith helmet and cut through the berry bush jungle just to get to his desk. Even Tarzan can be heard swinging through the theater's rafters. Meanwhile, Waldorf, left to his own devices, tries to amuse himself by making faces and tickling himself. When he tries to flip for Valerie, though, he nearly sends himself sailing right out of their box. After Valerie's closing number with the Clodhoppers, Statler finally gets a chance to ask her out on a date. Valerie, a vegetarian, rejects his offer of a steak dinner but considers noshing on the potted offspring of the berry bush that he offers her. Songs/Sketches * "Broadway Baby" (Valerie) * The Swedish Chef: Japanese Cake * Muppet News Flash: "Man Turns into Rug" * Rowlf's Poetry Corner: "The Butterfly" * At the Dance * UK Spot: "Tit Willow" (Rowlf the Dog, Sam the Eagle) * "Searchin'" (Floyd Pepper, Mary Louise, two Whatnots). * Guest Star's Dressing Room: Hilda introduces Valerie to Bernie the Easter Bunny and Animal. * Wayne and Wanda: "On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)" * Muppet News Flash: "Blank Paper" * "Nobody Does It Like Me" (Valerie, the Clodhoppers) Notes * This is Season One's most forward-looking episode, prefacing the developments of the next season. It begins with the scripted "spontaneity" of Valerie arriving at the theater and asking if she can do the opening number. She then "auditions" an elaborate number backstage, complete with quick costume changes. The sense that the Muppets don't know exactly what they're doing until they do it is an important part of the show's "controlled chaos" aesthetic, but this is the only episode in the first season where that's a major element. *Even though the then-newly rebuilt Sam the Eagle puppet appears in the UK spot, the version of Sam the Eagle from Sex and Violence is used in the intro for Wayne and Wanda. * In the last episode's At the Dance sketch, the Blue Frackle danced in drag with Miss Kitty. In this episode, the Blue Frackle appears as normal, but his partner, theGreen Frackle, is in drag. In both instances, he ends up headless. * This is Statler's first appearance backstage. He and Waldorf would later appear backstage in episode 517, in which they run The Muppet Show. * Statler reveals to Kermit that he had dated "Hayes, Langtry, and Barrymore." Kermit assumes this to mean Helen Hayes, Lillie Langtry, and Ethel Barrymore, but Statler corrects him. It was actually Lionel Barrymore that he dated. Cast Muppets: :Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, The Great Gonzo, Rowlf the Dog, Statler, Waldorf, George the Janitor, The Swedish Chef, Japanese Cake, The Newsman, Animal, Red-Haired Female Whatnot dancer, Herman, Loud Female Whatnot dancer, Zoot, Janice, Dr. Teeth, Mildred Huxtetter, Frackles, Sam the Eagle, Floyd Pepper, Mary Louise, Hilda, Bernie, Wayne, Wanda, The Clodhoppers, "Searchin'" Whatnot singers Background Muppets: :Miss Piggy, Scooter, Tom, Dick, and Harry, Big Hand, Butterflies, Baseball Bat, Tarzan (unseen) Referenced Characters: :Bertha Beasley and Her Galloping Geese Performers :Jim Henson as Kermit, Rowlf, Waldorf, the Swedish Chef, the Newsman, Dr. Teeth, and a Clodhopper :Frank Oz as Fozzie, George, Animal, Mildred Huxtetter, Sam the Eagle, Mary Louise, and a Clodhopper :Jerry Nelson as Floyd, Herman, and the Loud Female Whatnot dancer :Richard Hunt as Statler, Wayne, the Japanese Cake, and the "Searchin'" Whatnot singers :Dave Goelz as The Great Gonzo, Zoot, and Blue Frackle :Eren Ozker as Hilda, Wanda, Janice, Green Frackle, and the Red-Haired Female Whatnot dancer :John Lovelady as Bernie Video releases * The Muppet Show: Season One Edits *CTS: The UK skit "Tit Willow" is cut. 120